Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36898749›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2023

Acupuncture in chemotherapy-induced dysgeusia (AcuDysg): study protocol of a randomised controlled trial.

Christine Huber, Linxin Zhang, Marc Schlaeppi, Twyla Müller, Stephanie Roll, Petra Voiss, Jürgen Barth, Christoph Driessen, Claudia M Witt

Abstract readClinical Trial Protocol
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Acupuncture for chemotherapy-induced dysgeusia (AcuDysg): a randomized controlled trial.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026
    Trial
  2. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Christine HuberInstitute for Complementary and Integrative Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0002-0009-9296
Linxin ZhangInstitute for Complementary and Integrative Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0003-4612-460X
Marc SchlaeppiCenter for Integrative Medicine, Kantonsspital St Gallen, Cantonal Hospital St. Gallen, Sankt Gallen, Switzerland.
Twyla MüllerInstitute for Complementary and Integrative Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0003-1037-5714
Stephanie RollInstitute of Social Medicine, Epidemiology and Health Economics, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.ORCID 0000-0003-1191-3289
Petra VoissDepartment of Internal and Integrative Medicine, Evang. Kliniken Essen-Mitte, Faculty of Medicine, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-9005-0479
Jürgen BarthInstitute for Complementary and Integrative Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0001-7096-7178
Christoph DriessenDepartment of Oncology and Hematology, Kantonsspital St Gallen, Cantonal Hospital St. Gallen, Sankt Gallen, Switzerland.
Claudia M WittInstitute for Complementary and Integrative Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland claudia.witt@uzh.ch.ORCID 0000-0002-5440-7805

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionDysgeusia is a common side effect of chemotherapy in patients with cancer, but to date, there is no effective treatment. Many patients with cancer request complementary medicine treatment in addition to their cancer treatments, and acupuncture is highly accepted for patients with cancer; however, evidence regarding the effectiveness of acupuncture for dysgeusia is scarce.The study investigates the effectiveness of an additional dysgeusia-specific acupuncture plus self-acupressure intervention compared with supportive acupuncture plus self-acupressure intervention alone for chemotherapy-induced dysgeusia in patients with cancer. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This is a multicentre, randomised, controlled and two-armed parallel-group, single-blind trial involving 130 patients. Both groups will receive eight sessions of acupuncture treatment over a period of 8 weeks and will be trained to perform self-acupressure (eLearning combined with therapist instruction) at predefined acupressure points once a day during the whole treatment period. Patients in the control group will receive supportive routine care acupuncture and self-acupressure treatment only; in addition to this treatment, the intervention group will receive the dysgeusia-specific acupuncture and acupressure within the same treatment session. The primary outcome is the perceived dysgeusia over 8 weeks, measured weekly after the acupuncture treatment. Secondary outcomes include the indices from the objective taste and smell test, weight loss, perceived dysgeusia, fatigue, distress, nausea and vomiting, odynophagia, xerostomia and polyneuropathy, as well as quality of life at the different time points. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study has been approved by the Cantonal Ethics Committee (CEC) (Kanton Zürich Kantonale Ethikkommission) (approval no. KEK-ZH-Nr. 2020-01900). The results will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal for publication. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBERS: DRKS00023348, SNCTP000004128.

Indexed as

AcupressureAcupuncture TherapyAntineoplastic AgentsNeoplasmsDysgeusiaHumansMulticenter Studies as TopicQuality of LifeRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicSingle-Blind MethodTreatment OutcomeAntineoplastic AgentsCHEMOTHERAPYCOMPLEMENTARY MEDICINEONCOLOGY

Identifiers

PMID36898749
PMCPMC10008328

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.